Bach Ice Shelf

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The Bach Ice Shelf is an ice shelf in the south of Alexander Island in the British Antarctic Territory. It is irregular in shape and extends for 45 miles, occupying an embayment in the south part of Alexander Island entered between Berlioz Point and Rossini Point.

The ice shelf supports the south face of the Beethoven Peninsula, along with some minor extensive peninsulas and small musically-named inlets including the Weber Inlet and the Boccherini Inlet. The Bach Ice Shelf also supports the north side of the Monteverdi Peninsula.

A minor embayment in this position first appeared on the charts of the US Antarctic Service, which explored the south part of Alexander Island by air and from the ground in 1940. The ice shelf was delineated by Derek J.H. Searle of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1960, from air photos obtained by the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947–48.

The shelf was named by the UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee after the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

In a 2009 review, the Bach Ice Shelf was listed as one of five Antarctic peninsula Ice shelves that were not in retreat. However, with the retreat of the Wilkins Ice Shelf possibly signalling a southward retreat of the limit of viability, the Bach Ice Shelf may be the next to come under threat.[1]

Location

References

  1. Cook, A.J. and Vaughan, D.G.: 'Overview of areal changes of the ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past 50 years' (British Antarctic Survey, 2009) in The Cryosphere 2 February 2010
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